Definition and Historical Context:
Indulgence, in a religious context, refers to the remission of temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven. Historically, the concept of indulgences became prominent in the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. It was believed that through certain actions, prayers, or donations, a believer could reduce the time spent in purgatory for themselves or others. This practice was one of the catalysts for the Protestant Reformation, as figures like Martin Luther criticized the sale of indulgences as corrupt and unbiblical.

Biblical References and Theological Considerations:
The Bible does not explicitly mention indulgences. However, the concept is often associated with the broader theological discussions of sin, repentance, and forgiveness. Key biblical principles relevant to the discussion of indulgences include:

1. Repentance and Forgiveness:
The Bible emphasizes repentance and faith in Christ as the means of receiving forgiveness. In Acts 3:19 , Peter calls for repentance: "Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away." This underscores the necessity of a personal turning away from sin and turning towards God.

2. Grace and Salvation:
Ephesians 2:8-9 states, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." This passage highlights that salvation is a gift from God, not something that can be earned or purchased, which challenges the notion of indulgences as a means to reduce punishment for sin.

3. Temporal Punishment and Discipline:
While the Bible teaches that believers are forgiven through Christ, it also acknowledges the reality of temporal consequences for sin. Hebrews 12:6 says, "For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives." This discipline is seen as a form of loving correction rather than punitive retribution.

4. Intercession and the Communion of Saints:
The practice of indulgences is sometimes linked to the belief in the communion of saints and the intercessory role of the Church. James 5:16 encourages believers to "confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." This reflects the communal aspect of faith and the support believers offer each other through prayer.

Criticism and Reformation:
The sale of indulgences, particularly in the late medieval period, was met with significant criticism. Reformers argued that it undermined the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice and the doctrine of justification by faith alone. The Ninety-Five Theses, penned by Martin Luther in 1517, specifically targeted the abuse of indulgences, sparking widespread theological debate and leading to the Protestant Reformation.

Modern Perspectives:
Today, the Roman Catholic Church maintains the practice of indulgences but has reformed its approach, emphasizing that they cannot be sold and must be accompanied by genuine repentance and confession. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes indulgences as a way to assist believers in their spiritual growth and purification.

In contrast, most Protestant denominations reject the concept of indulgences, adhering to the belief that Christ's atonement is fully sufficient for the forgiveness of sins and that no additional acts are necessary to reduce temporal punishment. This perspective is rooted in the conviction that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Topicalbible.org

1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?
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1 Corinthians 6:20
For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
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Ephesians 5:18
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
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1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:
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1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.
Topicalbible.org

1 John 3:17
But whoever has this world's good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him?
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James 4:17
Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.
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Hebrews 13:4
Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
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Matthew 5:1-48
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came to him:
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1. (n.) Forbearance; restraint; gratification; granting of a favor.

2. (n.) An indulgent act; favor granted; gratification.

3. (n.) Remission of the temporal punishment due to sins, after the guilt of sin has been remitted by sincere repentance; absolution from the censures and public penances of the church. It is a payment of the debt of justice to God by the application of the merits of Christ and his saints to the contrite soul through the church. It is therefore believed to diminish or destroy for sins the punishment of purgatory.

4. (v. t.) To grant an indulgence to.

5172. truphe -- softness, daintiness, luxuriousness
... 5172 (from , "to break down due to over-indulgence, ie living in excessive luxury") --
properly, brought on by self-indulgence (luxury); (figuratively) moral ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5172.htm - 7k

4140. plesmone -- a filling up
... Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: plesmone Phonetic Spelling:
(place-mon-ay') Short Definition: satisfaction, indulgence Definition: satisfaction ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4140.htm - 6k

4774. suggnome -- confession, fellow feeling
... Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: suggnome Phonetic Spelling:
(soong-gno'-may) Short Definition: permission, indulgence Definition: permission ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4774.htm - 6k

425. anesis -- a loosening, relaxation
... relaxation. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: anesis Phonetic Spelling:
(an'-es-is) Short Definition: relief, remission, indulgence, freedom, rest ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/425.htm - 6k

192. akrasia -- want of power
... Word Origin from akrates Definition want of power NASB Word Usage lack of self-control
(1), self-indulgence (1). to lack of self-control, self-indulgence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/192.htm - 7k

4763. streniao -- to run riot
... revel, riot. Cognate: 4763 -- living in sensual, lustful behavior, ie in
self-indulgence (wanton luxury). See 4764 (). Word Origin ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4763.htm - 6k

1792. entruphao -- to revel in
... 1792 (from 1722 "in" intensifying 5171 , "to be self-indulgent") -- properly, engage
in self-indulgence which results in the of a person's body, soul, and ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1792.htm - 7k

4684. spatalao -- to live riotously
... 4684 -- properly, to indulge in luxury (unneeded surplus). The , "The modern term ','
in which the notion of than that of sensual indulgence, .". ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4684.htm - 6k

Whether an Indulgence Can ever be Granted to one who Does not ...
... OF THOSE WHOM INDULGENCES AVAIL (FOUR ARTICLES) Whether an indulgence can ever
be granted to one who does not fulfill the conditions required? ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether an indulgence can ever.htm

Whether an Indulgence Avails the Person who Grants It?
... OF THOSE WHOM INDULGENCES AVAIL (FOUR ARTICLES) Whether an indulgence avails
the person who grants it? Objection 1: It would seem ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether an indulgence avails the.htm

Whether an Indulgence Ought to be Granted for Temporal Help?
... OF INDULGENCES (THREE ARTICLES) Whether an indulgence ought to be granted
for temporal help? Objection 1: It would seem that an ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether an indulgence ought to.htm

Whether an Indulgence Avails those who are in Mortal Sin?
... OF THOSE WHOM INDULGENCES AVAIL (FOUR ARTICLES) Whether an indulgence
avails those who are in mortal sin? Objection 1: It would ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether an indulgence avails those.htm

Whether an Indulgence Can Remit any Part of the Punishment Due for ...
... OF INDULGENCES (THREE ARTICLES) Whether an indulgence can remit any part of
the punishment due for the satisfaction of sins? Objection ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether an indulgence can remit.htm

Of those who Promise this Indulgence not to All, but Only to those ...
... Chapter 20."Of Those Who Promise This Indulgence Not to All, But Only to Those Who
Have Been Baptized as Catholics, Though Afterwards They Have Broken Out ...
/.../augustine/city of god/chapter 20 of those who promise.htm

Of Indulgence and Pure Volition. The Question Illustrated.
... Chapter III."Of Indulgence and Pure Volition. The Question Illustrated.
[521] For ... Indulgence is the source of all permission. And ...
/.../tertullian/on exhortation to chastity/chapter iii of indulgence and pure.htm

It is Right, According to the Ecclesiastical Canon, that the ...
... Canon I. It is right, according to the ecclesiastical Canon, that the
Communion should by indulgence be? It is right, according ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/canon i it is right.htm

Whether a Deacon or Another who is not a Priest Can Grant an ...
... OF THOSE WHO CAN GRANT INDULGENCES (FOUR ARTICLES) Whether a deacon or another
who is not a priest can grant an indulgence? Objection ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether a deacon or another.htm

Of the Need for Some Protest against the Psychics and their Self ...
... Chapter XII"Of the Need for Some Protest Against the Psychics and Their
Self-Indulgence. For, by this time, in this respect as ...
/.../on fasting in opposition to the psychics/chapter xiiof the need for.htm

Indulgence (3 Occurrences)
... It is therefore believed to diminish or destroy for sins the punishment of purgatory.
4. (vt) To grant an indulgence to. ...Indulgence (3 Occurrences). ...
/i/indulgence.htm - 8k

Self-indulgence (4 Occurrences)
Self-indulgence. Self-imposed, Self-indulgence. Self-indulgent . Noah Webster's
Dictionary ... Multi-Version Concordance Self-indulgence (4 Occurrences). ...
/s/self-indulgence.htm - 7k

Continency (1 Occurrence)
... 2. (n.) The restraint which a person imposes upon his desires and passions; the
act or power of refraining from indulgence of the sexual appetite, esp. ...
/c/continency.htm - 8k

Temperance (3 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) Habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites
and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence; moderation; as, temperance in ...
/t/temperance.htm - 12k

Drunkenness (10 Occurrences)
... 6:6), and the wealthy ladies who press their husbands to join them in a carousal
(Amos 4:1); he also complains that this form of self-indulgence was practiced ...
/d/drunkenness.htm - 24k

Sensual (8 Occurrences)
... 3. (a.) Hence, not spiritual or intellectual; carnal; fleshly; pertaining to, or
consisting in, the gratification of the senses, or the indulgence of appetites ...
/s/sensual.htm - 11k

Jubilee (25 Occurrences)
... celebrated at Rome, at stated intervals, originally of one hundred years, but latterly
of twenty-five; a plenary and extraordinary indulgence grated by the ...
/j/jubilee.htm - 27k

Intemperance (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Excessive indulgence of an appetite or a passion;
excessive consumption of alcohol. 2. (n.) Specifically ...
/i/intemperance.htm - 7k

Rigor (8 Occurrences)
... 7. (n.) Exactness without allowance, deviation, or indulgence; strictness; as, the
rigor of criticism; to execute a law with rigor; to enforce moral duties ...
/r/rigor.htm - 9k

Excuse (13 Occurrences)
... circumstances appear to justify it. 3. (vt) To regard with indulgence; to view
leniently or to overlook; to pardon. 4. (vt) To free from ...
/e/excuse.htm - 11k

What are the 95 Theses of Martin Luther? | GotQuestions.org

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Indulgence: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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